NHIA moves resources to point of care

ALEXANDRIA, Va. �- Home infusion providers will soon have a host of clinical resources at their fingertips, thanks to the National Home Infusion Association's plans to move those resources to a web-based application.

“Over the years, NHIA has developed different clinical tools and quick guides, where someone went to our website and printed them out,” said Jennifer Charron, vice president for clinical affairs.“We wanted to put them in a web application and move away from paper.”

In addition to clinical information, the app—which will be available for both Android and iOS—includes reimbursement and billing tools, and data outcomes for quality of care, said Charron.

Making such resources easily available to clinicians at the point of care will have a big impact on patient care.

“If I'm a nurse in the home and administering a central venous access device, I can just click on the guide to give me flushing and catheter care instructions and troubleshooting tips,” Charron said.

NHIA partnered with Citus Health, a digital health solution provider, to build the app. While improved patient care is a key benefit, improved relationships with referral sources are equally key, says CEO Melissa Kozak.

“The physicians are being asked to sign paper documentation and fax it, and communicate in all sorts of additional ways,” she said. “We've done market research that has indicated it's frustrating to work with home infusion providers in this manner, and that it hasn't been automated.”

NHIA expects the platform to launch in early 2018.

“Health care is changing so fast, and we've mapped this out so we can add fresh content consistently,” said Charron. “This is going to be a living, breathing resource tool to bring more information directly to our members.”